


Anode/Cathode Tamer: Backlog- Taichi

by FireDragon1321



Series: The Old Crap Dungeon [1]
Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Wonderswan Series
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Starvation, Torture, anode/cathode tamer needed to focus more on the original kids dammit, don't worry he is fine in the end, old fic that is probably not up to my current writing standards, originally written for digimon adventure big bang but was never submitted, please read the tags, poor baby, rated m for safety but it's probably more of a t, seriously folks if you don't wanna see tai have a nervous breakdown go somewhere else, this fic is also old as shit, uses Japanese names and terms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 03:34:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14946821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireDragon1321/pseuds/FireDragon1321
Summary: It’s been one week since Millenniumon captured the Chosen Children, and Taichi is not patiently waiting for Ryo to arrive and rescue him. Instead, he plots an escape from his prison. Takes place during the Wonderswan game Anode/Cathode Tamer.





	Anode/Cathode Tamer: Backlog- Taichi

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is written for the little-known Wonderswan games Anode/Cathode Tamer, which were only released in Japan. They are considered part of Adventure canon. In these games, the eight children from the show are captured and Ryo (who most people know from Tamers) has to save them.
> 
> That’s all well and dandy. But, in this game, the kids are treated like plot coupons that one “wins” by defeating bosses. I read the script, and the only one who acted like they’d been captured for days was Joe (he thought he was “finished”). The only one with any concern for anyone else was Kari, for Tai. 
> 
> This boggles me, especially considering how fleshed out they were in the show. I grew up with these kids. So here’s what really happened- eight children are suddenly snatched by evil Digimon and kept captive, probably for days or even weeks. How are they being treated? Did they even try to escape? Bandai won’t tell us, so I will use fanfic magic to answer to the best of my ability.
> 
> I originally wrote this for the Digimon Adventure Big Bang, but I was too nervous to post it. It never got to the beta stage. That and the whole event came to a standstill for some reason. So this fic sat and rotted on my computer for a very long while. But now, here is is, out of the ashes.
> 
> This fic uses Japanese names and terminology, simply because of the original game being exclusive to Japan. So when it mentions “Ultimates” at one point, it really means “Megas”. I only mention this so I don’t get spam saying “but WarGreymon is a Mega, not an Ultimate!”. I usually write using dub terms, so yea.
> 
> I'm sorry Tai. You are still my favorite. Dammit, am I falling into the pit of people who torture their favorite characters? Well, this fic is kinda old, so maybe it doesn't matter? Oh yea, it's an oldie, so it's probably not as good as my newer fics.
> 
> I do not own Digimon. Digimon is property of Bandai/Toei. This is a fan work made for entertainment purposes and I am making no money off of it.

Taichi paced back and forth across the width of the tiny cell. I wasn’t like there was anything else for him to do. Pacing was one of the few kinds of movement the cell allowed. If Taichi were even more restrained or had to sit in the corner playing a stupid harmonica (as Yamato was doubtlessly doing), he would probably go insane.

He didn’t discover anything new during his “walk” around the cell. It was colder than usual today, if that was even possible. Taichi hated the cold, almost as much as he hated this cell. 

Taichi guessed his prison was about ten feet wide. In one corner was the pile of musty-smelling hay that his captors provided for him to use as a bed. In another- which he carefully avoided while pacing- was the place where he would relieve himself if needed. There was about a week’s worth of waste there, which was more than enough to make the whole cell stink worse than the Numemons’ sewer.

Taichi wasn’t just pacing to move his sore, agitated body. Movement helped him to think, and he needed to think of a way to escape his cell and find his sister and friends. Whenever he thought of poor Hikari, all he could do was flash back to the moment they were captured.

\----------------------------------------------

_The day had begun normally enough. Taichi had woken up that morning, brushed his teeth, attempted to comb his hair, gave up and wolfed down his breakfast. He said goodbye to his parents (if only he’d known it would be the last time he saw them!) and headed off for school._

_After school was soccer practice, so he came home sweaty and exhausted. He flopped on the couch and turned on the TV. As there was nothing on, he used the white noise to help him sleep._

_That’s when the nightmare started._

_“Onii-chan!” screamed Hikari. Her voice was muffled, like it was coming from another room._

_Taichi snapped awake and half-ran, half-fell off the couch. Hikari cried out again, but it didn’t appear to be coming from their room. It came from the direction of the family computer._

_Despite being sore from soccer practice, Taichi ran faster than Garurumon to get to the computer. Instead of the friendly desktop, the gleaming red eyes of a Digimon were waiting for him. This monster was painted in shades of brown and blue that made it look like one of the undead. It had a long horn on its grotesque head. A shroud-like spirit covered its body and two cannons sat on its back. The worst part was who it held in one of its four clawed hands- a wailing Hikari._

_“Hey, Lizard Breath!” Taichi screamed into the monitor. “Let go of Hikari!”_

_“So, this is the leader of the Chosen Children,” the monster said with a cackle as Taichi found his Digivice lying near the computer. He picked it up and held it like a weapon, making sure the monster could see it._

_“One of the Digivices,” the monster said. “Well, let’s see how powerful it truly is!”_

_And with that, one of the beast’s free hands came through the screen. Taichi felt as if he were being sucked into a vacuum. He screamed, and the scream echoed inside his head. His temples began to throb. It felt like his brain was about to explode. Hikari’s warped shrieks only made the experience worse._

_The pain slowly ebbed away, and Taichi found himself looking at his living room through a glass wall. Something rough was wrapped around his waist and the horrified cries of his sister were louder and more real than ever._

_Taichi instantly realized what happened. He was in the Digital World. Taichi began to struggle as the creature began to walk away from his safe living room, which was quickly growing smaller in the distance._

_“Not so tough now, a-” the monster began to brag, but it suddenly roared in pain and dropped Taichi. Taichi could hear something sizzling and barely saw a red Digivice shaped wound on the monster’s hand as he fell. He closed his eyes and prepared to hit the ground, but instead fell into one of the beast’s other hands._

_Taichi tried to take this opportunity to run away, but he was grabbed by the collar. The monster gingerly plucked the Digivice out of Taichi’s hand and flicked it away like a scab, smarting as he did so._

_“So, the leader of the Chosen Children is stronger than I thought,” the monster said, tightening his grip on his two victims. “Time Unlimited!”_

_Taichi felt electricity leap through every bone in his body. He cried out in pain while trying his hardest not to give the monster the satisfaction of seeing him shed any tears. The last thing he heard before blacking out was his sister crying out in terror._

_“Onii-chan!”_

\----------------------------------------------

He woke up in this hellhole, all by himself. He had no company except for the demon Digimon that ran the place. Without them realizing it, these creatures were his chief informants while he was in captivity. From them, he learned the monster who captured him and his sister was called Millenniumon, and he was more powerful than even Ultimates like WarGreymon. He’d also heard that the other Chosen Children were also captured, but he didn’t learn where the others were being held.

As he was musing about this, the door to the cell clanged open. Taichi looked up hopefully, but that hope died when he saw it was only a Devidramon with his food.

“Eat,” the draconic Digimon commanded, throwing a bowl of foul-smelling slop at Taichi’s feet. Taichi responded by glaring at him.

“Still on a hunger strike?” Devidramon asked.

Taichi refused to eat the food they brought him since about three days ago. He didn’t know why, but the food made him violently ill. The result of his illness was a reeking pile of vomit in the waste corner. Since then, he refused to eat their slop. The Digimon seemed to think he was doing it to be defiant, and Taichi had no problems with letting them believe that.

“How about you bring me some real food?” Taichi demanded, crossing his arms and trying to look tough. “Then we’ll talk.”

“Insolent little brat!” Devidramon screeched, slapping his victim clean across the cell with his tail. “If you want to be that way, then go ahead and starve to death!”

The cell door slammed shut again as Devidramon mumbled something about Taichi being a “waste of oxygen” that “should have been killed, but Master Millenniumon wouldn’t allow it”. 

Taichi grinned triumphantly. Devidramon was so stupid and angry that he’d actually given Taichi exactly what he wanted. He didn’t have to eat the food now, plus he got some information as a bonus. In a way, it was a good thing all the guard Digimon had the same stupid, angry, evil personality.

Wait a minute.

Taichi got up and began pacing around the perimeter of the cell again. He was starting to make a plan.

\----------------------------------------------

There were three guards who frequented Taichi’s cell- a Bakemon, the Devidramon who gave him his food and a PicoDevimon that did not appear to be the one he knew and loathed. PicoDevimon appeared to be the youngest and a little stupider than the other two. Taichi might even be able to trick him into handing over the key. He couldn’t help laughing out loud at the irony of _that_.

But it was getting late, and Taichi’s hungry and tired brain couldn’t think of just how to use PicoDevimon’s wicked nature against him. He plodded over to his bed and collapsed in an exhausted heap. Forcing himself to keep his eyes open, he listened carefully for any gossip that might be useful.

“What?” boomed Devidramon from somewhere down the hall. “Some of the Chosen Children escaped?”

“Yes,” replied the sleepy drone of Bakemon. “I heard a human child named Ryo busted them out.”

“Does Master Millenniumon know?” Devidramon inquired.

“I told him this morning and he just said ‘Ryo, eh?’ and smiled, then sent me away,” Bakemon said.

“That’s it?” Devidramon asked, shocked.

“You can never tell what he’s thinking,” Bakemon said matter-of-factly.

Devidramon’s footsteps faded and Bakemon presumably floated away, leaving Taichi alone in the dark.

[ _So this kid Ryo saved some of us?_ ] Taichi thought. [ _Thanks for the info, geniuses. I wonder if Ryo saved Hikari? I really hope he did._ ]

\----------------------------------------------

Taichi dreamed he was back home. He dreamed his friends and his sister were all okay. His parents were there, crying tears of joy. Even Agumon and Miko were there. He picked up Hikari and promised that nobody, human or Digimon, would ever hurt her ever again.

Then a particularly strong hunger pain roused him and he was forced back into his dreary reality.

\----------------------------------------------

Later the next day, while Taichi was stretching his tired muscles, he got an idea.

“Hey, PicoDevimon!” he called.

The little bat-like creature appeared outside the door to his cell. “Whatddaya want?” PicoDevimon snapped.

“Y’know, I’ve been in here for a while,” Taichi said. “And I’ve been thinking, I would love to serve Master Millenniumon and stop this Ryo kid I heard about.”

Taichi held his breath as PicoDevimon ruminated over what he just said. “What can a puny human like you do?” he asked.

[ _Crap! Didn’t think of that,_ ] Taichi thought. After a brief moment of grasping for an excuse, he said, “Ryo won’t expect one of the Chosen Children to switch sides. I could help distract him while you guys finish him off. Or maybe you could pretend to hold me hostage. There’s plenty of uses for me!” He then broke out into stereotypical evil laughter.

“Hmm. Those are some good ideas,” PicoDevimon said with a sneer.

Inside his head, Taichi was celebrating the success he had in tricking PicoDevimon and thanking his lucky stars that the creature did not have the cunning of the one that had antagonized him long ago. “Thank you, PicoDevimon!” he said. “I knew you would understand.”

“I’ll go tell Master Millenniumon about your change of heart,” PicoDevimon said, his tone more respectful than before. He began to fly away.

“No, no, no!” Taichi said, shaking his hands with each “no”. “This is really important. I think it would be better if I told him myself.”

PicoDevimon flew away and Taichi was afraid he was really going to get the powerful Digimon. Luckily, he returned with the key and the door opened, just as Taichi wanted. He couldn’t help snickering at just how easy this was to pull off as he followed PicoDevimon out of the dungeon.

\----------------------------------------------

The human and Digimon emerged into a long hallway with many doors. The walls were made of brick like those in the dungeon, only they were less decrepit. A SkullGreymon with a throbbing heart emerged from one of the doors, making Taichi shudder. The creature did not face Taichi and simply stomped down the hallway. Other than this unwelcome blast from the past, Taichi and PicoDevimon were the only ones in the hallway.

[ _So far, so good,_ ] Taichi thought. 

It was time for the next step. Taichi placed his hands on his abdomen as if he were in pain. “Ugh,” he groaned. “Do you know where I can find the little Digimon’s room?”

PicoDevimon gestured to one of the doors with his taloned foot. Taichi raced in and found a room full of straw like the pile he had slept on for the last week. It reeked like fifty waste corners. There was only one door in the place, but it led to a janitor’s closet. Taichi held his nose and looked around for a window, another door or some other opening from which to escape. There was nothing else in sight.

[ _Maybe there’s a secret trap door until all this straw,_ ] Taichi thought.

Taichi stuck his hands into the straw. His gloves steadily became soaked with Digimon excrement. A choice pile of feces squished between his fingers like foul-smelling clay. He dropped it and began tossing the straw all over the room frantically.

[ _This is worse than the Numemon,_ ] Taichi thought. 

Despite the terrible feeling and the urge to take off his gloves, Taichi kept digging. He couldn’t give up. His little sister needed her onii-chan.

Taichi pulled up what he thought was another handful of straw. A small section of the straw in front of Taichi suddenly vanished into the floor. Taichi looked into his hand to see that the straw was actually a long rope handle. Smiling, he readied himself to leap into the abyss.

The door banged open with great force. Taichi found himself staring at Devidramon. Upon seeing the cold, unforgiving pairs of eyes, Taichi turned pale. He dropped the rope on the ground and tried to avoid looking at the hole he’d just made.

“Um, Devidramon, sir,” Taichi stammered as his armpits began to get drenched with sweat. “I’m on my way to see Master Millenniumon after I finish doing my business in here and I-”

He wasn’t allowed to finish. The Adult level Digimon grabbed him by the collar and growled, “I know all about your little trick on PicoDevimon. Helping Master Millenniumon. Ha! That’s a good joke. You’re lucky PicoDevimon is still young and not quite as cunning as me. I wouldn’t have let you take even one step outside your cell!”

Devidramon began to drag Taichi away from the door. His victim wrestled with all his might, grasping at the straw and trying to find the rope again. “Devidramon!” Taichi screamed. “I need to get back to my friends and my sister, Hikari, too. She needs me! Put me down, you-”

“I don’t care about them,” Devidramon growled. “You will be punished for your little stunt. I will put you into solitary confinement myself. And don’t worry. Master Millenniumon _will_ hear about this.”

Taichi howled and swung at Devidramon, but only hit the empty air. He took one last desperate, hopeful glance at the gaping trap door as he was led away.

\----------------------------------------------

Devidramon took Taichi to a new cell that was darker and danker than the first one. Instead of metal bars, there was only a wooden door leading outside. But the worst part had to be the metal chains around his wrists and ankles. Being allowed only a foot to move made him physically ill.

At first, he struggled against the restraints, even though it felt like he’d tear his own limbs off. But as the days went by, his strength began to leave him. 

Of all the Digimon they could have chosen to bring him food, they picked SkullGreymon. Three times a day, the monster would leer at him, making him flash back to a certain stadium and another terrible mistake. It would then dump his food into the cell and vanish. Taichi would often scream at it, and it would always respond with a silencing roar. He remained on a hunger strike, so the slop was piling up in his cell. SkullGreymon didn’t seem to notice this.

“Brainless bonehead!” Taichi would often roar as SkullGreymon left his cell.

\----------------------------------------------

Taichi had no idea how long he’d been here. “Hikari,” he said, almost without thinking. “Hikari, are you okay? Did you ever get out? Dammit!” He weakly shook his chains in a hopeless attempt to break them.

Taichi was talking to himself a lot lately. There hadn’t been anyone else to talk to. Well, except for SkullGreymon, but that _thing_ wasn’t exactly a talker. He couldn’t even hear the other guards from here. At least on his first journey, he had his friends to prevent him from going insane. Hopefully they were alive and not going through this hell. The thought assaulted Taichi every single day. 

Another thought that attacked Taichi was the mental state of his parents. How were they getting along without him? Had they stopped looking for him? Were they grieving? Taichi had to get out and see them, but he couldn’t see any way to escape this room. He chuckled as he was actually starting to prefer his old cell to this one in so many ways.

Taichi attempted to pace around the cell, but the chains didn’t let him move. He slumped against the wall in exhaustion. Then, he thought of yet another person who haunted the back of his brain.

“Ryo!” Taichi blurted out. The word filled the cell like music. “Where the hell are you, kid?”

Taichi was no damsel in distress, and he really didn’t want to be. But right now, Ryo was his only hope. 

\----------------------------------------------

Day after day, Taichi stared at the door, waiting for it to open and for the mysterious Ryo to step through, hopefully with his friends and sister. His eyes were bloodshot from the staring and lack of sleep. Hunger pains and the hope of rescue kept him awake. 

Every time the door opened, however, it was just SkullGreymon to taunt him with its mere presence and to dump more food on the floor. Taichi’s throat was sore from constantly yelling at it for the crime of being a SkullGreymon and the desperate need to yell at something, _anything_. 

Other than these mini-episodes, Taichi was left with mind-numbing boredom. When he was bored, he’d sometimes daydream about home. He missed soccer and his mother’s rice, which was the only thing she could cook well. 

“Hurry it up, kid,” Taichi muttered.

\----------------------------------------------

Taichi couldn’t take the hunger that gnawed at him like a dog on a bone. Nor could he take the smell of the food that SkullGreymon tossed into his cell three times each day. It made the whole cell reek of day-old garbage.

Taichi buried his hands in the mush. It was cold and tasted like dung, but he managed to choke down a few bites. About fifteen minutes later, he began projectile vomiting all over the cell.

“Crap,” Taichi cursed, a stream of vomit hanging from the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away with his hand.

\----------------------------------------------

Taichi was becoming antsy. He wanted- no, he _needed_ \- to run. It was in his blood to move about. He knew he would never settle for some stuffy business-type job when he grew up. Diplomat? Salaryman? Bah. Now more than ever, he knew he needed a job with a free range of movement. He didn’t care if it didn’t pay well.

In desperation, Taichi pulled against the chains. He didn’t know what was in that DigiSlop, but, whenever he could keep it down, it restored some of his strength. He’d been eating again in order to stop the hunger pains and have enough in him for a fruitless battle with his restraints. His wrists and ankles were bright red and howling in agony. If only he could digivolve like Agumon. Taichi imagined it- he could become WarTaimon and slice the chains away with his Dramon Destroyers.

That wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, though.

Taichi furiously punched the wall, causing blood to ooze from his fist and splatter all over the concrete. Despite the pain, he punched again and again. It hurt far less than being unable to move.

Eventually, Taichi’s hand became so badly damaged that he could no longer punch the wall. He stared at it, counting two broken fingers. Next thing he knew, he was crying his eyeballs out. The whole time, he tried not to cry, to not let Millenniumon destroy him that much. But the inability to move freely was the lowest blow they could deal to him that didn’t involve torturing someone else. 

Like, for example, Hikari.

Taichi didn’t know how long he lay there sobbing, but, when it was all over, he was too tired to do anything but sleep.

\----------------------------------------------

The door opened with a bang. Taichi groaned and tried to open his eyes. Light flooded into the cell, causing him to blink several times. “What do you want, you bonehead?” Taichi yelled hoarsely. “Come to throw more crap on the floor?”

Instead of the ugly maw of SkullGreymon leering at him, however, Taichi saw a human boy and several Digimon. He couldn’t see the details of their bodies well. He could only see a bunch of silhouettes mingling together. They looked familiar, but Taichi couldn’t remember how until one spoke.

“Taichi!” called out a worried voice as a Digimon emerged into the cell- Agumon. The silhouettes broke apart, and Taichi saw the other Chosen Digimon spill into the cell after him. 

[ _Agumon?_ ] Taichi could hardly believe what he was seeing. His dinosaur buddy looked at him as if he hadn’t seen his human partner in a thousand years. [ _Is this a dream?_ ]

Agumon slashed the horrible chains in two with his claws. His human companion stepped forward and carefully unlocked the shackles that had been constricting his wrists and ankles. They fell to the floor with a loud clang of defeat. Blood began to flow freely into Taichi’s hands and feet again. He stared in amazement at the blisters that covered his wrists where the shackles once restricted him and numbly rubbed the raw skin. After struggling to his feet, he kicked one of the shackles clear across the cell.

[ _Serves you right, you piece of junk,_ ] Taichi though triumphantly.

“Taichi!” Agumon cried happily. “We finally found you!” 

Agumon’s voice had snapped Taichi from his stupor. “Agumon!” Taichi replied. “I thought I’d never see you again, buddy!”

Agumon then turned towards the boy who had removed the shackles. “This is Ryo,” he said. “He’s the one who saved you and the other Chosen Children.”

“Thank you, Ryo!” Taichi said. “It's all thanks to you-”

Ryo held up a hand to stop him. “ No, it's not me,” he said. “It's Agumon and his friends who helped. Now can I go back to my world?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Taichi replied. “I have to go back too. The others have already returned, right? I'm going back too.”

“Agumon too?” Ryo asked. His voice had suddenly become filled with sorrow. “Are you all going back?”

Agumon looked at his feet. “I...I...” he began, but he was unable to finish his sentence.

“Oh yeah,” Ryo said glumly. “Taichi and Agumon were originally always together so you're going back together, right? You don't have to worry about me, Agumon.”

“You don't have to worry about that too much! We can meet somewhere again, Ryo!” Gomamon said cheerfully.

“Right!” Palmon added. “Our hearts will always be with you!”

One by one, the other Digimon tried to assure Ryo that they would meet again. Taichi couldn’t help but wonder how long they’d been traveling together trying to find him and the others. Agumon sighed and walked over to Ryo, who responded by grasping the Digimon and holding him close.

Seeing this broke Taichi’s heart. He barely knew Ryo, but he felt as if a mere thank you wasn’t anywhere near what he owed the boy. Anyone who got him out of the hell he’d been in for countless days was a friend of his, as far as he was concerned.

“We're friends forever! As long as you remember these battles, we'll be sure to meet again someday,” Taichi blurted out.

He wasn’t sure if it would help much, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. At that moment, there was a bright flash of light. The Digimon all called out their goodbyes and Taichi found himself joining them. When the light had vanished, Ryo was gone, leaving Agumon in the middle of the cell looking almost as desolate and alone as Taichi had probably looked minutes ago.

“Goodbye, Ryo,” Agumon said with a sniffle.

Taichi knelt by Agumon’s side. The little dinosaur was trying to hold back tears.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Taichi,” Agumon said.

Taichi smiled and patted Agumon on the head, even though he was definitely not “okay” in any sense except for the fact that he was still alive. “Oh! I almost forgot to give this back to you,” Agumon said. 

Agumon held out a clawed hand. Sitting right in the palm was a familiar blue object- Taichi’s Digivice. Taichi took it wordlessly and closed his fingers around the cool, otherworldly metal. He closed his eyes and walked out of the open door to the cell for the first time in what felt like a millennium, the Digimon trailing behind him. 

Taichi thought of his family, and how their heartbreak would finally be relieved. He thought of his little sister calling out his name and of all the other Chosen Children. He thought of good food and a real bed that wasn’t a little pile of old hay.

Mostly, Taichi focused on the mere fact that he was in motion after being chained up for so long. He found himself breaking into a stumbling imitation of a run. Taichi didn’t care that he might trip over his own feet at any moment. For the first time in a long time, he felt truly alive.


End file.
